You can’t imagine a day without using a smartphone. Because It has become one of the most essential parts of our life. From shopping to attending meetings, what you can’t do with a smartphone? But, if you are using your phone most of the time without urgency, it can affect your daily routine. Addiction to smartphones also creates a distance among family members, friends, and real-life activities. May you know that you’re addicted to your smartphone, you’re scrolling through the news feed of Facebook or Instagram for a long time without any reason. But you can’t stop yourself from doing this. Because it is a virtual drug. Are you looking for a way to get rid of smartphone addiction?
In this article, we will find out 11 practical ways to get rid of smartphone addiction.
What is Smartphone Addiction?
When you can’t stay away from your phone for two or three hours and pick up your phone to check notifications every 15-20 minutes, it’s smartphone addiction. Even if you haven’t any specific work or cause on your smartphone, clicking on it is an addiction. Nowadays, a large number of young people are addicted to it. When you are at a get-together party with your friends, most of them are hooked up with their smartphones. It is annoying and not good. This addiction also impacts our mental health. It increases frustration and loneliness.
11 Effective Ways to Cure Smartphone Addiction
Those who are over-dependent on their smartphone can cause a lot of problems. But here’s hoping news! They can get rid of this addiction by following some effective ways.
1. Turn Off Notifications
Notification works like a magnet. Whenever any notification pops up on the screen, we become excited to see this. We unlock our phone to see the notification then start scrolling Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc. These apps are designed for unlimited scrolling systems. So, it is quite tough to stay away from this.
To get rid of this, you should customize your notification settings.
Go and turn off notifications from all social media-related apps like messenger, Facebook, Instagram. And turn on notifications for some important apps like Gmail, WhatsApp, telegram.
This process helps to save a lot of time and also you don’t miss the important notifications.
2. Use Digital Wellbeing
Most smartphones have a digital wellbeing system. If not, then go to the play store and download the Digital Wellbeing app. It counts your screen time, pickup time, average use time. It also shows individual apps using time and how much time you spend on your phone in a week or month.
This is a practical way that helps you to get rid of smartphone addiction.
3. Keep Your Phone Away
If your phone is in your hand, you pick it up and tap it without any reason. But when your phone is out of your reach, it’s easy to forget to check your phone again and again.
This tip can also help you to give concentrate at your work properly. You can easily finish your work or gossip with your friends rather than scrolling Facebook.
4. Use Physical Version of Apps
Nowadays, we are so much dependent on smartphones. We pick up our phones to do calculations, watch time, set up alarms, etc. But we don’t keep our phones away after doing the necessary work. We start checking notifications, watching YouTube, and forget to do other work. It kills your valuable time.
As a result, it’s advisable to use the physical version of these apps. You can wear a wristwatch to check the time. In addition, instead of doing calculations or setting alarms on smartphones, you can use gadgets like calculators and alarm clocks. It helps you to keep away from the phone.
5. Switch Off Phone Before Sleeping
Most of the people go to the bed to sleep and take the phone for checking social media updates. Then they start scrolling and don’t put the phone down before 2 to 3 am. It has a bad impact on your physical and mental health. The blue light of the screen is also harmful for your eyes. So before going to bed it’s a must to switch off your phone and take proper sleep.
6. Remove Addicted Apps
This is another effective way to get rid of smartphone addiction. Remove all your addicted gaming and social media apps from your phone. Though it sounds impossible but actually not. Use a browser or computer to visit social media sites.
Social media is a place where people show only their good sides. And other people start comparing their life with others. It’s a cause of depression.
So, spending less time on social media also helps to bring peace.
7. Find a Real-Life Hobby
A real-life hobby is much better than always tapping the phone. Try to find a real-life hobby like swimming, cycling, or playing outdoor games. These hobbies make you healthy.
But in this lockdown situation, it is quite difficult to go outside. In that case, you can choose indoor hobbies. Painting, reading books, cooking these can be great choices. These hobbies also keep your mind fresh and keep you far from your smartphone.
8. Upload Less on Social Media
When you share more on social media, you’ll be more curious to want to know how many people are engaging with your stories, posts. That time you’ll be checking your phone more frequently than normal days. So, try to upload less on social media. This is a way that helps to cure this addiction.
9. Turn Your Phone to Grayscale
Colors are linked to moods and interests. According to research, especially that little red notification bubble has make us enslaved for so long. Turning your phone to black and white. It will help you to break your attention from the phone. So, you don’t tap your phone more then normal times.
10. Download Addiction Breaking Apps
On the Play Store, there are a lot of apps that might assist you to limit your usage of mobile. To maintain your phone usage under control, you can download these apps and modify them as needed. Here we can suggest some of them.
- AppDetox
This application allows you to create time restrictions on how much time you spend inside certain apps to help you get off your device. You may examine statistics on how much you use any app, and afterward establish limits for everyday uses: AppDetox can limit when you can use the application during the day, how often you can use it, or both.
- Checky
This program just collects information on your phone usage, such as how many times you unlock your phone in a day and how often you do so over time. Checky can help you track your progress if you want to gradually reduce your smartphone usage using some of the ways we listed above.
- Flipd
This app also helps you to set timers and restrictions to access over-usage apps. It also shows the timing list of how much you use any app.
This process helps to break your addiction.
11. Think Before Picking Up Your Phone
Take a moment to consider why you’re unlocking your phone right now every time you’re about to do so. Do you have a specific task, such as scanning a document or texting your boss, that you need to complete? After that, complete the task and put your phone away. But now and then the motives for checking your smartphone are much deeper than you think.
When you discover the actual motive behind checking your smartphone, it’s less difficult to manipulate yourself. If you feel lonely, you could name your circle of relatives or talk with a colleague. If you feel bored, you could cross for a quick stroll or examine a book. There are lots of factors to do except gazing at a screen!
Conclusion
Though smartphones are the most important gadgets for our daily life, excessive use of them is bad for our physical health as well as mental health. If you have an unhealthy relationship with your smartphone, you should take proper steps to get rid of this habit from this moment. If you follow the steps we mentioned above, you can easily get rid of smartphone addiction. If you have any ideas, let us know in the comment box.
